Germantown fares well in new state report cards

Germantown - It may be a new state accountability system to measure school district achievement, but it's the same schools in Germantown that scored well above its counterparts across Wisconsin.

The new school report cards released Monday are part of the accountability system that is meant to gauge and improve student achievement and school performance. The 2012-2013 school year is the first time it is being used and applies to all public schools.

Germantown High School was ranked in the top 20 public schools in Wisconsin out of more than 500 schools across the state, Superintendent Susan Borden said. The high school scored an 80.5, which lands it in the "exceeds expectations" category of the report card.

The report card is a scale of zero to 100 with 100 being the highest score, according to the Department of Public Instruction.

Rockfield Elementary School, which was recently named a Blue Ribbon School is continuing the trend of recent success as it was ranked 10th out of approximately 1,200 public elementary schools in Wisconsin. According to DPI, Rockfield scored 89.2, meaning "significantly exceeds expectations."

A report card has been prepared for every public school in the state. It measures a school's performance using a variety of methods, such as student test scores, and rates each school on a five-category scale. Student achievement, student growth, closing gaps, on-track and postsecondary readiness, and student engagement indicators are the five measured areas in each public school.

Report cards will be issued each year.

Other parts of the new accountability system for schools include new methods for evaluating teacher performance, a new student testing system with higher expectations for student achievement, statewide common core academic standards and new ways for students to earn college and technical credit in high school, Borden said.